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GIS-E5020 GNSS-technologies (5 cr)

Exercise 3, “Navigation solution + DGNSS + SBAS”, 22.03.2017

1. [M] Illustrate in 3-D the satellite orbits for a few satellites of your choice using the 24-hour sp3 orbit file
provided in Ex3.zip (gfz13755.sp3) from the GFZ station in Potsdam, Germany, from May 2006 by for
example plotting the Earth fixed coordinates of the satellites with Matlab's plot3-function.

GPS orbits are distributed in various formats. The simplest format, called "sp3", provides the (X,Y,Z)
position of the satellite center of mass in an ECEF frame every 15 minutes. This is the format used by the
International GNSS Service (IGS), http://kb.igs.org/hc/en-us/articles/201096516-IGS-Formats

Short .sp3 -file description:

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A set of Matlab scripts are provided (Ex3.zip). You have to use read_sp3.m and plot3 functions.

2. Zip-file Ex3.zip includes also Matlab scripts (GNSS_Sim_PVT.m, GNSS_Sim_PVT_EKF.m and some
additional files) and a data file (GNSS_Sim_Output1.dat) for producing a navigation solution.

The data file includes pseudorange and Doppler measurements of a simulated GPS receiver. Every row of
the data file corresponds to a time step. The rows include raw pseudorange and Doppler measurements,
GPS satellite positions and velocities, and simulated position estimates and truth conditions for use in
comparison as a reference.

Post processing scripts to compute the receiver position estimate using the simulated measurements to
obtain a navigation solution of the simulated receiver: GNSS_Sim_PVT.m is a least-squares position
solution and GNSS_Sim_PVT_EKF.m is an extended Kalman filter solution of the simulated receiver.
Examine the code to find the relevant algorithms (LS and Kalman) for navigation solution computation.

[M] Differences in positioning accuracy using single and dual frequency measurements
Process the GNSS_Sim_Output1.dat file with GNSS_Sim_PVT.m with both “1 - Single Frequency
Pseudoranges” and “ 2 - Dual Frequency Pseudoranges”. Select “1”, Terrestrial Rx, when running the
script. Explain the obtained results and compare the accuracy obtained using single-frequency and dual-
frequency measurements in the least squares computation. (Make sure to clear the Matlab workspace in
between all the different runs of the post-processing script with the clear all command). How much does
the dual-frequency measurement processing improve the results?

3. ESA's SBAS Simulator is a satellite-based navigation systems simulation software:

http://www.egnos-pro.esa.int/sbassimulator/index.html. You can familiarize yourself with the tool by
examining the manual provided in Ex3.zip.
Run the SBAS simulator (by IGUASSU Software Systems) (with Java enabled)

Assess the
 Ionospheric simulations
 Navigation system error
 Coverage of satellites
 Satellite ground tracks
 Sky plot and 3D simulations
 Dilution of Precision
in the Helsinki area (60.1708° N, 24.9375° E) with the SBAS simulator. Assess all the analysis options and
elaborate on your findings on SBAS performance in the Helsinki region.

Check also today's live EGNOS performance in Europe at https://egnos-user-support.essp-

sas.eu/new_egnos_ops/maps_apv1 and the official pages showing EGNOS service performance
http://egnos-user-support.essp-sas.eu/egnos_ops/index.php

Additional tutorial material for Matlab tasks [M]: Matlab resources are listed e.g. at
http://www.staff.ttu.ee/~alahe/aMatlab.html

Exercises can either be returned by email (heidi.kuusniemi@nls.fi with subject “Exercise 3”) or in the exercise
class, where the tasks and correct answers are discussed jointly.